Buildings of Le Havre

There are 33 Standard buildings. Depending on the number of players, not all buildings are used. The 33 Standard buildings include 9 Craftsman's buildings, 6 Economic buildings, 10 Industrial buildings, 4 Public buildings and 4 Non-buildings. There are a total of 6 Fishermen and 8 Hammers on the buildings.

Abattoir

The player may upgrade any number of cattle to meat by turning over the tokens. In addition, she receives 1 hide for every 2 cattle that are slaughtered (rounded down). She receives 1 hide for slaughtering 2-3 cattle, 2 for slaughtering 4-5 cattle, etc. Hides are only a byproduct of slaughtering cattle. They may be upgraded to leather.

Arts Center

For each other player who is currently occupying one of her buildings, the player receives 4 Francs from the Treasury. Her own person token is not counted. First time players should be pointed to any opportunities to earn 8 or more Francs during the game, to ensure that they don't miss the opportunity. The Arts Center is only included in the game for 4 or more players.

Bank

The Bank does not allow an action. At the end of the game, its value depends on the other buildings owned by its owner. Each Industrial building increases the value of the Bank by 3 Francs.

In addition, each Economic building (including the Bank) increases the value of the Bank by 2 Francs.

Note: The Bank is the only building in the game that is built with steel. The Bank and the Town Hall are an important reason to invest rather than save your money, in this case by buying Industrial and Economic buildings.

Black Market

(N, Sort order 13, Value 2, Entry fee: 1 food).

The Black Market cannot be built but can only be bought. A player who visits the Black Market may take 2 of each good (including Francs) whose Offer space is empty: that is, 1 Franc coins, fish, wood, clay, iron, grain and cattle. 5 Franc coins, coal and hides (as well as upgraded goods) cannot be acquired through the Black Market.

Note: If the Black Market is at the top of one of the piles after game setup, we recommend that you reshuffle the building cards and lay them out again. Otherwise the starting player would have too great an advantage during the game. How often the Black Market is used depends on when it enters the game. First-time players should be alerted at times when they could receive 4 or more goods from the black market, so that they do not miss the opportunity.

Brickworks

The player may upgrade any number of clay to brick by turning over the tokens. Each brick that is produced costs ½ an energy (rounded up). 1-2 bricks cost 1 energy, 3-4 bricks cost 2, 5-6 bricks cost 3, etc. For every 2 bricks that are produced, he receives a subsidy of 1 Franc (rounded down). So he receives 1 Franc for producing 2-3 bricks, 2 for producing 4-5 bricks, etc.

As well as the Brickworks, the Hardware Store also offers an opportunity to obtain brick.

Building Firms

The Building Firms are Starting buildings. They allow players to build buildings but not ships. Players can use a Building Firm to build one of the 3 buildings that are at the top of the Building Proposals piles. Buildings that are owned by the Town cannot be built - they have already been built and can only be bought. Building Firms are also explained in the game rules under "Constructing new Buildings" in the "Building Buildings and Ships".

Business Office

The player can exchange any 4 goods of her choice (whether upgraded or not) for 1 steel. Francs never count as goods. In addition or alternatively, she may exchange 1 good for her choice of 1 charcoal, 1 leather or 1 brick.

The 4 goods may be the same or different goods. It only takes 2 trips to the Business Office for a player to collect enough steel for a valuable Steel ship.

Charcoal Kiln

(C, Sort order 07, Value 8, No entry fee, Building material: 1 clay).

The player may upgrade any amount of wood to charcoal by turning the tokens over. Players who take this action need not convert all of their wood. No energy is required to create charcoal.

The process of creating charcoal creates its own energy.

Church

(P, Sort order 30, Value 26, may not be bought, No entry fee, Building material: 5 wood and 3 brick plus 1 iron).

A player may only enter the Church if he has at least 5 loaves of bread and 2 fish (no smoked fish). He receives an additional 5 bread and 3 fish. It's a miracle! The building card shows Le Havre's Church of St Joseph. The action represents the Biblical story of the Feeding of the Multitude.

Clay Mound

(N, Sort order 10, Value 2, Entry fee: 1 food).

The Clay Mound cannot be built but can only be bought. A player who enters the Clay Mound receives 3 clay from the supply, plus an additional 1 clay for each hammer shown on his building cards.

Colliery

The player receives 3 coal from the supply. A player with at least one Hammer on her building cards receives 1 additional coal. Players do not receive additional coal for having more than one hammer.

Tip: The Colliery is the reason why each player should have at least 1 Hammer (e.g. by buying one of the Building Firms or the Construction Firm). As well as the Colliery, the Marketplace also offers an opportunity to acquire coal. Players can also receive energy through the Charcoal Burner's and the Cokery.

Construction Firm

(I, Starting building, Value 8, Entry fee: 2 food, 1 Hammer).

The Construction Firm is a Starting Building. It allows players to build up to two buildings from the top of the Building Proposals piles, one after another. It does not allow players to build ships. A player can take both buildings from the same pile. A player may even use the Construction Firm to build one building, then use an additional action to buy the next building, and then build the third in the pile with the Construction Firm. Buildings that are owned by the Town cannot be built - they have already been built and can only be bought.

The Construction Firm is also explained in the game rules under "Constructing new Buildings" in the "Building Buildings and Ships" section.

Dock

The Dock does not allow an action. At the end of the game, its value depends on the number of ships owned by its owner. Each Ship card, regardless of type, increases the value of the Dock by 4 Francs. The Dock is only included in the game for 4 or more players. In games with fewer players it would be too strong.

Hardware Store

The player receives 1 wood, 1 brick and 1 iron from the supply. A single brick is required to modernize a Wharf and to build the Tannery and the Grocery Market. As well as the Hardware Store, the Brickworks gives players the opportunity to obtain brick. Ironworks (I, Sort order 22, Value 12, Entry fee: 3 food or 1 Franc, Building material: 1 wood and 2 brick, 1 Hammer).

The player receives 3 iron from the supply. A player may pay 6 energy to take 1 additional iron. 6 energy is very expensive for the fourth iron, but sometimes a player urgently needs it to build an Iron ship.

Local Court

The player may return 1 or 2 Loan cards without paying anything for them. A player with exactly 1 loan may return it. A player with exactly 2 loans returns one and receives 2 Francs from the Treasury. A player with 3 or more loans returns 2 of them (or may choose to only return 1 and to take the 2 Francs instead). Even a player with 5 or more loans can still hope to win the game with the help of the Local Court. This card is only included in the game for 3 or more players (in the shortened version, only for 5 players); with fewer players, each player will ship enough goods to easily repay any loans.

Marketplace

The player selects 2 different standard goods and takes them from their Supply spaces (not from the Offer space!) Standard goods are identified by the border of the tokens. The player may choose from fish, wood, clay, iron, grain and cattle, as well as hides and coal. She may select one additional standard good for each Craftsman's building that she owns. A player may never take more than one of the same type of good, so may take at most 8 goods.

After this, the player may look at the two top cards in the Special buildings pile and return them to the deck in any order. At the end of the game, the Special buildings space is never empty. This allows for the Marketplace: the visitor must be able to influence the order of the buildings right to the end of the game. The next player can start his or her turn while the player is looking at the Special buildings.

Sawmill

The Sawmill is similar to the Building Firm. The Sawmill allows players to build buildings but not ships. The card name is on a green background, like the Building Firm and Construction Firm.

Players can use the Sawmill to build one of the 3 buildings that are at the top of the Building Proposals piles, as long as it is built with at least 1 wood. The advantage of the Sawmill is that the player pays 1 fewer wood than is required. Buildings that are owned by the Town cannot be built - they have already been built and can only be bought.

Tip: The Sawmill is often sold early in the game to finance purchase of a Wooden ship. This also applies to the Fishery and the Charcoal Kiln.

Shipping Line

The player pays 3 energy for each of his ships that he wants to use to ship goods. Wooden ships can ship 2 goods, Iron ships 3 and Steel ships 4. Luxury liners cannot be used to ship goods.

Each shipped meat, smoked fish, charcoal, hide, brick and iron earns the player 2 Francs; each cattle, bread and coal earns 3 Francs, each leather 4 Francs, each coke 5 Francs and each steel 8 Francs. Other goods can be shipped for 1 Franc each. The earnings are shown on the Shipping Line card as well as on each goods token (bottom right).

A player who ships goods with more than one ship at once may pay all the energy costs together; they need not be paid separately for each ship. Typically, players will use 1 coke, with an energy value of 10, to provide energy for 3 ships. Leather, cattle and bread are shipped most frequently, but also coke and brick. Each good can be carried on each type of ship. A player may ship several of the same good or different goods on a single ship.

Smokehouse

The player can upgrade up to 6 fish to smoked fish by turning the tokens over. This costs 1 energy regardless of how many fish are upgraded. For every 2 fish that are smoked, the player receives a subsidy of 1 Franc (rounded down). So the player receives 1 Franc for smoking 2-3 fish, 2 for smoking 4-5 fish, etc.

Steel Mill

The player may upgrade any number of iron to steel by turning over the tokens. This costs 5 energy for each iron. If a player upgrades more than one iron at once, she can pay the energy costs together; they need not be paid separately for each upgrade. Typically, the energy costs are paid with coke. The Business Office also offers players an opportunity to get steel.

Storehouse

The Storehouse does not allow an action. At the end of the game, the value of the Storehouse depends on the number of goods tokens its owner possesses: each standard or upgraded goods token increases the value of the Storehouse by ½ a Franc (round the total down if necessary). The Storehouse is only included in the game for 4 or more players. In games with fewer players it would be too strong.

Tannery

The player can upgrade up to 4 hides to leather by turning the tokens over. For every hide that is tanned, the player receives a subsidy of 1 Franc. The 36 Special buildings include 4 that allow players to sell leather for a good profit.

Town Hall

The Town Hall does not allow an action. At the end of the game, the value of the Town Hall depends on the other buildings owned by its owner. Each Public building, including the Town Hall itself, increases the value of the Town Hall by 4 Francs. In addition, each Craftsman's building increases the value of the Town Hall by 2 Francs. The Town Hall and the Bank are an important reason to invest rather than save your money, in this case by buying Public and Craftsman's buildings.

Wharf

(I, two in the game, Sort order 12/17, Value 14, Entry fee: 2 food, Building material: 2 wood, 2 clay and 2 iron, may be modernized).

The player pays the building costs (including 3 energy) for his choice of Ship card. Players can only build 1 ship at a time at a Wharf. Players can only build ships that have become available, and can only build the topmost ship on each pile. The first player to build a ship that is not a Wooden ship at a particular Wharf must first modernize it by placing 1 brick on the Wharf. The brick remains on the Wharf until the end of the game. A player can only modernize a Wharf if he is also building a ship. Players do not need to pay additional brick to build additional Iron or Steel ships or Luxury liners at a modernized Wharf.

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